ASIAN VOICES / Archives

Feb. 27, Sat.

"Dubai at the Crossroads"

News of the November 2009 Dubai financial crisis sent shockwaves across the world. In recent years Dubai had shown itself to be a new center of economic growth in the Gulf region. After the announcement of its financial difficulties, however, countries that had invested heavily in Dubai such as Britain and the United States saw a rapid fall in stock prices. Currencies were also affected, with the euro falling and the yen appreciating. The global economy, still reeling from the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers collapse, had to come to terms with the problems of an emerging economy that, like China and India, had been a source of hope as a new economic leader.

Dubai attracts enormous foreign investment as well as many companies from the West and from Asia, including Japan and South Korea. What does financial instability in Dubai signify for the Asian and global economies? What lessons should we learn? And how should other Gulf nations, which were looking to Dubai as a model "post-oil" economy, now seek to promote their own growth?

While Dubai's problems were eased by assistance from Abu Dhabi, it is still vital to discuss what happened there and consider what the future holds. Our guests include a key figure from Dubai, an economist from Britain (the largest investor in Dubai), and experts from Korea and Japan.

Guest Dr. Nasser H. Saidi (Chief Economist, Dubai International Financial Centre)	Guest Dr. Cho Man (Professor, Korean Development Institute)	Guest Dr. Christopher M Davidson (Senior Lecturer, Durham University)
Guest Kazuo Takahashi (Professor, The Open University of Japan)	Presenter Aiko Doden (Senior Commentator, NHK)